Aunt Bee is one of the most iconic and lovable characters from the classic American sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Played by Frances Bavier, she was the maternal figure for Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie in the fictional town of Mayberry. But how exactly is Aunt Bee related to Andy? And what was their relationship like behind the scenes? Here are some facts and trivia about the Taylor family and their housekeeper.
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Aunt Bee’s Family Background
According to Wikipedia, Aunt Bee’s full name is Beatrice Taylor, and she is the paternal aunt of Andy Taylor. She is also the great-aunt of Opie Taylor, Andy’s son. In the first episode of The Andy Griffith Show, “The New Housekeeper”, Aunt Bee returns to Mayberry after a five-year sojourn in Morgantown, West Virginia, when Andy’s housekeeper Rose marries and leaves his house. Aunt Bee then takes over the household duties and becomes Opie’s surrogate mother and grandmother.
Andy explains to Opie that he was raised by Aunt Bee, and Bee later mentions, without elaboration, having raised other Taylors. She has a sister named Nora, who visits her in one episode, and a brother-in-law named Ollie. She also has a rapscallion cousin named Bradford J. Taylor, who appears in a color episode.
Aunt Bee’s Cooking Skills
Aunt Bee is well known in Mayberry for her cooking skills. She frequently contributes meals to community or church events and brings picnic baskets of food to Mayberry’s tiny jail for its lawmen and inmates. While Aunt Bee is celebrated for her cuisine, she falls short as a pickler and marmalade maker. Andy and Barney refer to her pickles as “kerosene cucumbers” and her marmalade as smelling like “ammonia” – though they keep these opinions from her, so as not to hurt her feelings. Her other food is very well regarded, and Andy is especially fond of her pork chops and cornbread biscuits, while Opie’s favorite dish is her butterscotch pecan pie.
Aunt Bee’s Love Life
Aunt Bee has several one-episode flirtations in the early seasons with men who prove to be cads. She dates a traveling salesman who sells patent medicine with alcohol, a con artist who pretends to be a professor, a dry cleaner who is already married, and a handyman who tries to mooch off her. She also has a brief engagement with a retired businessman who turns out to be a bore. In the later seasons, she develops a more stable relationship with a widowed farmer named Sam Jones, who becomes the main character of the spin-off series Mayberry R.F.D.
Aunt Bee’s Teetotalism
Aunt Bee is a teetotaler, meaning that she abstains from alcohol. This is partly due to her brother’s trouble with the bottle, as Andy mentions in one episode. She disapproves of drinking and gambling, and often tries to reform Andy or Barney when they indulge in these vices. However, she occasionally gets tipsy by accident, such as when she drinks some spiked punch at a party or when she eats some rum cake at Christmas.
Aunt Bee’s Off-Screen Feud with Andy Griffith
The relationship that Aunt Bee and Andy Griffith had on camera was inspiring. It certainly touched a lot of people’s hearts and helped foster good relationships between family members. But, now it is surfacing that Aunt Bee and Andy Griffith did not have a great relationship off-screen.
According to Outsider, Frances Bavier was a stage actress who had trouble adjusting to the television medium. She was often unhappy with the scripts and felt that her character was too old-fashioned and stereotypical. She also clashed with Andy Griffith over their acting styles and personalities. Griffith was more relaxed and spontaneous, while Bavier was more rigid and formal. They rarely spoke to each other outside of work, and Bavier isolated herself from the rest of the cast.
Despite their differences, Griffith respected Bavier’s talent and professionalism, and Bavier appreciated Griffith’s generosity and kindness. They both cared about the show and its fans, and they never let their personal issues affect their performances. In fact, Bavier won an Emmy Award for her role as Aunt Bee in 1967.
In 1986, Bavier called Griffith from her home in North Carolina and apologized for her behavior on the show. She said that she loved him and that he was wonderful to work with. Griffith accepted her apology and thanked her for calling him. They never spoke again before Bavier died in 1989.
Conclusion
Aunt Bee is more than just a housekeeper for Andy Taylor; she is his aunt, his friend, and his family. She is also a beloved character for millions of viewers who grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show. Her relationship with Andy was not always smooth, but it was always sincere and heartfelt. She is a symbol of warmth, wisdom, and humor in the nostalgic world of Mayberry.
